Which datastore type in vSphere uses a clustered file system optimized for virtual machines?

The correct choice is VMFS, which stands for Virtual Machine File System. VMFS is a clustered file system specifically designed to store virtual machines in a way that optimizes performance and resource utilization in a virtualized environment. It allows multiple ESXi hosts to read and write to the same datastore concurrently, which is crucial for environments with high availability and scalability requirements.

VMFS supports advanced features that are essential for virtualization, such as snapshotting, thin provisioning, and dynamic expansion. These features enhance the management capabilities and efficiency of storage resources for virtual machines.

Other datastore types listed serve different purposes or have limitations that do not align with the requirements for optimizing virtual machines. For example, while NFS (Network File System) can also be used for storing virtual machines, it is not a clustered file system tailored specifically for virtualization like VMFS. vSAN is a software-defined storage solution that integrates directly with vSphere but operates differently from VMFS. FAT32 is a file system primarily used for general data storage and lacks the advanced functionalities required for virtual environments. Therefore, VMFS stands out as the optimal choice for managing virtual machine storage in vSphere.